At Jianglong Gymnasium in Nanjing City, the match between Black Spade Q Club and Osmanthus Fragrance Club was about to begin.
Jianglong Gymnasium was actually far smaller than Black Spade Q's home venue, Sequoia Stadium. Yet Osmanthus Fragrance Club's home-game popularity clearly surpassed Black Spade Q's. The stands were packed with a sea of heads, easily over a thousand people by rough estimate.
Osmanthus Fragrance's players entered first, greeted by thunderous cheers and applause from the stands.
When Black Spade Q's players entered, however, they received only sparse, polite applause, along with a few ill-timed boos.
Lu Jia showed a trace of nervousness, while Fan Xiaoxian held her head high and puffed out her chest, sweeping her gaze around as she stubbornly maintained her imposing air.
Wang Chao and Geng Shuai, on the other hand, remained calm and unruffled, completely unaffected by the outside atmosphere.
Geng Shuai was a little surprised. He glanced at Wang Chao and smiled. "Your mentality is pretty solid."
Wang Chao smiled as well. "I saw this coming, so of course it wouldn't affect me."
Geng Shuai said, "Oh?"
"I specifically looked up Osmanthus Fragrance Club's past results yesterday. They finished dead last in their founding year, then improved year after year. They can only be considered a mid-table team now, but to the local fans in Nanjing City, they're a source of pride."
Wang Chao explained, "When it comes to poaching players, we're the victims, so naturally we hate them. But to Nanjing City's fans, they might think their club is just really capable."
Geng Shuai suddenly pointed somewhere in the stands. "Wang Chao, you already have fans."
A red banner was faintly visible there, bearing the words: "Wang Chao Fan Support Club."
Wang Chao was stunned.
He had been burying himself in training these